Halloween After
by SCAtheWriter
Summary: Rick, Michonne, and Carl spend their first real Halloween post-zombie apocalypse melding their new world with their old one. Richonne one shot.


**This is my first TWD fanfic and what's better than Grimes Family 2.0 fluff?**

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"I don't understand why I even have to do this, I'm not–"

"A child. We know." Rick and Michonne finished together.

Carl wore a look of exasperation as Rick continued to fiddle with his own costume in front of the mirror.

"Carl, think about how happy it'll make Judith. Don't you want to experience her first real Halloween?"

Rick knew that bringing up Judith wasn't fair but getting Carl to participate in things that he would have enjoyed pre-zombie apocalypse was important to him.

"Can I at least have another costume?" Carl sighed in resignation.

"No. Michonne and Maggie have been working on costumes for weeks. You shoulda chose when I asked."

Michonne chuckled looking at his Captain Hook attire. They couldn't afford to waste fabric on something as frivolous as a costume but Spencer had suggested it as a way to brighten the children's spirits. Carl was vehemently opposed on the basis that he stopped being a child long before they crossed Alexandria's threshold. Still, Rick decided that they would go as a family whether Carl liked it or not.

"Plus, you look so handsome." Michonne added, beaming at him from across the room.

Carl fought to keep his expression neutral but he couldn't hold back an eye roll to showcase his displeasure at their amusement.

"Okay, tough guy. Let's compromise." Michonne urged as she fixed Judith's hair under a cap. "Walk the main street with us and take a photo at Aaron's and then you can ditch us and the costume. Fair?"

"Can I skip the trick or treating part and just take the picture?" He asked in a hopeful tone.

"Sure, if you want to go to the Halloween party at Spencer's."

Carl groaned loudly as he walked out of the room, leaving Rick and Michonne laughing at his obvious irritation.

"He'll be fine. This ain't the worst thing he's had to do."

Michonne pursed her lips at that, turning Judith around to make sure every bit of her costume was in place.

"Maybe. He's not wrong, though. We could have been a little nicer with the selection. It's like we're making fun of him with the eye patch."

Rick grunted at Michonne's logic.

"Like I said, he'll be fine."

Michonne shook her head and handed Judith to him as she checked her reflection.

"We _do_ look really put together for such a last minute job. I just wish that we could have found a fabric store or something. Just so the kids could have a really good Halloween. Something like they would have had before."

Rick shook his head at her, locking eyes with her reflection.

"This one'll suffice. Now let's go get Captain Hook before he jumps out of a window."

Michonne threw her head back in laughter as Rick pulled her towards the door, yelling for Carl. She felt euphoric and she didn't know whether it was Rick's infectious happiness, Judith's little growls at Carl (they told her that he was her enemy for the night), or the holiday but she felt herself daydreaming and looking at the sky with a heart of thank yous.

"I'm here, don't worry. You won't have to go without a villain." Carl bellowed as he bounded down the stairs. "I'm going to pretend like I'm enjoying this but I'm really not. Dad would've never done this before."

Carl shook his head at Michonne as he took Judith and walked ahead of his parents. Michonne chuckled at him and linked hands with Rick as they followed him at a leisurely pace.

"So…you would've never done this before? I thought you guys were the American Dream personified." Michonne teased, brushing her shoulder against his.

Rick snorted, keeping his eyes on Carl and Judith as they walked up to their first house.

"Nah. Lori probably would've liked it but I was usually working. I'd come see Carl in his costume and then take off to make sure the high schoolers weren't vandalizing anything important. I might've if I had known that there was going to be a before and after period of my life." Michonne hummed to let him know that she was listening. "This is all you, though. Lori would've never gotten me to dress up like someone's shadow and she sure as hell wouldn't have me doing some ridiculous family theme."

That made her laugh so hard that he practically had to hold her up. She knew that he was being a good sport but they really did look a bit ridiculous no matter how well their costumes had come out. Judith was Peter Pan which was easy. They easily recreated the look by dying a few pieces of her clothing green. Carl and Rick were easy as well. Carl already had the eye patch and the hair to fit the character, it just took some scavenging to find a trench coat that they could embellish to finish off his Captain Hook persona. As much as he complained, he would be thankful for that coat when the cold settled in. And then Rick. They had decided that he would be Peter Pan's shadow, simply because they couldn't find anything festive or costume-like that would fit him. Michonne's attire took a little more thought and planning. Her hair was tied up into a bun and Carol helped her turn a cocktail dress into a replica of Tinkerbell's signature look with some chicken wire and dyed fabric scraps. They were definitely a sight to see.

"Well, I'm glad that you went all out for me. I just want this one thing for the kids. Just something happy that they can look back on. Especially Judith. We need more moments like this."

Rick nodded his head in agreement, wrapping an arm around her shoulders they walked.

"Did you do this kind of thing before? The family dress up thing?"

"Nah…but I always wanted to." She answered wistfully. "He was sick his first Halloween and then it snuck up on me his second. Mike and I had been arguing about something stupid so I had the costumes and everything but forgot to actually go. I think that…I think his third Halloween would have been our year."

"Hmm."

"Hmm, what?"

Rick chuckled at her accusatory tone.

"Hmm nothin'. I'm just imagin' you as one of those mom's wearing matching bee costumes."

"No, no insects!" Michonne laughed, watching a few of the kids compare their baskets as they came back down the walkway of their fifth house. "I wanted him to be the completely cliché baby pumpkin."

"That's an even worse kind of mom!"

They laughed together as Carl and Judith slowed down for them to catch up.

"What's so funny?" Carl asked as they neared them.

"Nothing. Your dad is just judgmental and no fun." Michonne answered, bending down so she could be eye level with Judith. "What's that, Judy?"

Judith smiled, holding up her homemade paper basket.

"Wook, I got candy!"

They all congratulated her on her loot and she seemed happy with the praise as Rick picked her up and they made their way to Aaron's.

"Carl, what do you think of babies in pumpkin costumes?" Michonne asked as she linked arms with him.

"Is that a thing?"

"Yes! It's very much a thing. Answer."

"Okay…seems kinda obvious. Ya know…Halloween…pumpkins. Anyone that has a pumpkin baby didn't think hard about a costume at all."

Rick guffawed loudly on the other side of them and made eye contact with Michonne.

"He's my favorite son. I ever tell you that?" Rick boasted. "Carl, Michonne said that she loves babies in pumpkin costumes and she would dress a baby like that given half the chance."

Michonne rolled her eyes at both of them.

"Judy is clearly my only friend." She complained while Judith dug through her basket for stickers and other things that she could play with, paying them no attention.

"We still love you, even though you have terrible taste in baby costumes." Carl assured, giving her a side hug.

She gave into it and they continued on much like that for the rest of the night. Sharing do's and don'ts from the before period in their lives and melding them with their current standards. They took a few family photos to put in each of their rooms and Carl, predictably, disappeared with a group of teenagers and didn't appear again until the party was spilling into the streets as people meandered home.

As soon as they walked in the door, Carl dumped out Judith's treats and they were all surprised at what she was able to get in her little basket. The community came to an agreement that they would give out whatever they didn't absolutely need as long as the children could play with it. Most had broken up their chocolate rations into small pieces but others gave away small, worn toys, or handmade paper cards with flowers or cars on them. Carl combed through Judith's loot as she slept on the couch, her head in Michonne's lap, her feet in Rick's, before he interrupted their comfortable silence.

"So…you really wanted to dress Andre up as a pumpkin? Before?" He asked softly.

Judith could sleep through anything but he still didn't want to chance waking her.

"Yeah." Michonne whispered back. "I always thought that I could be more creative with the second kid but I wanted to go traditional with the first. Be the stereotype and all that."

Carl nodded, looking from her to his dad, whose head was thrown back against the couch with his eyelids fighting a losing war against sleep.

"Maybe you still can." He offered, slanting his eye at his dad. "Would you like that?"

Michonne watched him as he separated the treats, his hands extra careful not to crinkle any wrappers. She took a second to think about what he was implying as she brushed Judith's unruly hair with her fingers.

"Yeah…I'd like that."

Carl nodded, he was quiet for a moment as he scooped everything up off of the floor and placed it on the table. When he was finished he came to a stop in front of Michonne, his head tilted down.

"Next time I won't complain. Even if the baby is dressed up like a cliché pumpkin."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Well then, here's to all of our Halloweens after."

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 **Reviews are appreciated**


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